There are two main moments with violence and/or triggering moments so if you think you can't handle it, please leave now.
"No! I refuse to be the one to do this! Why can't it be you?! You've known him for almost your whole life so why me?!"
Tony was actually breathing hard after he had been complaining about this since he was told that he had to act as Bucky's significant other for two days minimum.
"Well, for one, I'm an Alpha, not an Omega. Alphas being together isn't rare, but not common either. And two, Tony, most people know who I am but everyone knows who you are. You're Tony 'Iron Man' Stark. If these guys see you out and about with a 'random Alpha', they're going to do their hardest to get you, but-" Steve explained before wincing as the last part came out wrong and Tony's eyes widened.
"Oh, so I'm bait now?! You're just gonna toss me out in the open for me to get captured-"
"We're not going to let that happen! We'll be watching both of you and will be there if they make a move. Besides, Bucky is going to be there to protect you, should you need it and if we can't get to you in time. He won't be leaving your side. Nothing's going to happen to you, Tony," Steve refuted, his voice softening in order to, hopefully, calm Tony down. They'd been discussing this for, at least, five minutes, not including the time in the conference room where the others were. Steve had had to pull Tony out of the room as he was pretty hysterical in there, though he had calmed down… kind of.
"That is my issue. I've tolerated him and given him a place to get his shit together this entire time and I'm not as mad as I was before but… You're saying I have to trust him, an Alpha that I hardly know, with my life, Steve. I… I don't know if I can do that with him yet." Tony ran his hands through his hair, his voice softer this time. Steve relaxed some to seem not as imposing as he could smell the slight fear and worry, along with some annoyance on Tony.
Steve was silent for some time before he quietly spoke. "I know, Tony. But it's been a year and a half since he's started living in the tower. When are you going to learn that he's not the Winter Soldier anymore and to trust him?" Steve looked at Tony and before the shorter man could speak, he sighed, "If you truly cannot do this, Tony, I get it and I'm not gonna force you. We can get another Omega or figure out another plan."
Tony looks at Steve, seeing the man with a guarded expression on his face before Steve started to walk towards the conference room. Right before Steve lifted his hand to open the door, Tony spoke up.
"Fine… I'll do it."
Steve turns around, walking back to Tony and stopping a couple feet behind him. "Only if you're sure you can do this, Tony."
"Don't try talking me out of it," Tony tells Steve, not turning to face him for fear of his facade breaking. Knowing that Steve wanted an actual answer, he spoke before the Alpha could, "I can do it." Steeling himself, Tony turned to look at Steve, his trademark smirk on his face as he points at Steve. "But don't expect any kissing to happen."
Steve huffs a laugh, smiling at Tony, "Trust me, I figured that wouldn't happen. You want a minute to think about this or are you ready to go back in?"
"Let's just go back. I know if I think about this before we figure out the rest of the plan, I'll end up talking myself out of it." Tony starts walking towards the door, passing by Steve. "You comin', Capsicle?"
Steve sighs and follows Tony back into the room so that they could give the news and figure out this plan of theirs. God I hope this goes well, Steve thinks, looking up before he steels himself and walks into the room.
"Alright, how's everything going out there, lovebirds," comes Natasha's teasing voice over the comms, her grin heard in her voice.
"Romanoff," came Steve's voice, a warning to the Beta heard in his tone.
"Ooh, 'Romanoff' now? What happened to 'Nat' or 'Natasha'?"
"This is serious, treat it as such. Besides, Tony is not particularly loving this plan and teasing isn't gonna help," Steve tells her, trying to keep his voice calm but not to the point that she thinks the teasing is okay. Tony internally thanked him as he was quite uncomfortable with how things were going. Him and Bucky were walking down the street, Bucky's right arm over his shoulders and keeping him tucked into his side as they walked.
"I don't know, Cap. Tony looks mighty comfortable with Beefy Bucky's strong arm holding him close," comes Clint's teasing voice, a smirk heard in his voice. He moved the mic from his mouth as he chuckled and watched the two men from a laptop that was connected to a stealth recon drone.
"Shut your face, Barton," Tony snaps before getting himself under control. Well, he tried to but Bucky rubbed his arm in comfort though it just put him on edge even more. Damn it, Tony thought.
"This could be the start of something new," Clint singsonged, grinning at his reference. He finally laughed as he heard Sam and Wanda start laughing while Bruce lets out a snort.
"Guys! Get serious, now. No more teasing from here on out, understood?" Steve's voice is heard loud and clear over the comms, a little growling and power put behind it. A chorus of 'sorry, Alpha's, 'understood's, and 'got it's came through the comms, calming Steve and Tony alike. "Good, now-"
"Heya, guys, there's a couple of Limerick's goons seem to be following Tony and Bucky," Clint interrupts Steve, his voice completely serious.
Tony's blood runs cold and fights hard not to start running as fast as he could away from where he was. Bucky must've sensed his fear and held onto him a little tighter, trying to send out pheromones of safety to calm the Omega down before he saw an opening of an alley. Upon seeing this, he started walking faster, enough to get them there quickly but not enough to alert the ones following them. Gently pressing Tony's back to one of the walls on the inside of the alley, Bucky looks into his eyes as he places his right hand on the place between Tony's shoulder and neck.
"Tony… I know you're scared but nothing is going to happen to you if I'm here. Now, I have an idea but you have to trust me because you aren't going to like it," Bucky tells Tony, looking sorry. "Do you trust me?"
"Uh, I- I… What's the idea?" Tony starts to panic, knowing those guys are getting closer and not knowing how to answer Bucky's question.
Bucky looks onto the sidewalk and sees that Limerick's guys are getting closer. Too close. "Do you trust me, Tony?"
Tony breathes harder before he nods, "Yes. I trust you. Now, what- Mm!" Tony startles as Bucky's lips are suddenly on his own, his flesh hand cradling one side of his face as the other one, the metal one, gently goes around his back. Tony internally groans before he closes his eyes, barely kissing back. Jesus, his lips are soft… Wait, what?! Stop it, Tony!
Limerick's men, a tall man with short blonde hair and the other slightly shorter with a bald head, take a quick look at Tony and Bucky but quickly look away at the public display of affection without even recognizing who they were. They continue walking away and as soon as Bucky can't sense them anymore, he pulls back a few steps, thinking it best to give Tony some space after that… that.
Tony takes a second with his eyes still closed and lips parted open some before he opens his eyes and closes his mouth, trying to look anywhere but in Bucky's direction. "So, uh… That was your plan?"
Bucky lets out a startled chuckle at that being the thing, of all things, that Tony says after that. "Uh, yeah… People don't particularly favor PDA."
"See? I told you, Steve," Natasha snarks over the comms, smirking.
"Don't start on that again. Tony, Bucky, are you two alright," Steve asks, waiting for an answer worriedly.
"I'm good," Tony answers before Bucky follows up with, "I am too."
"It feels so right to be here with you. And now, looking in your eyes," Clint tries desperately to hit the higher note. "I feel in my heart-"
"Clint," Tony snaps, before smiling shyly as a random person walking by looked at him oddly after his outburst.
"The start of something new…" Clint finishes, taking his mic off to bust out laughing but the team could still hear him. The reference made Sam, Wanda, Bruce, and Natasha start laughing out as well and chuckles were heard from Bucky and Steve. Even Tony had to smile at Clint's… Clint-ness. But that kiss had done something to Tony, one could even say it sparked 'something new' in him.
"Alright, alright… Tony, Bucky, why don't you to make your way back to your room to lay low for a bit," Steve suggests to them though his tone made it sound more like an order.
"Good with me," Bucky says, looking at Tony as he steps forward a couple steps. "Tony… We don't have to walk back like we did on the way here. We can-"
"No, we gotta keep the cover up. C'mon, snowball, let's go," Tony cuts him off, smirking some to hide his actual emotions, you know, like Tony always does.
Bucky moves forward and places his arm over Tony's shoulders like before and guides them out of the alley and in the direction of their hotel in silence.
"Hotel sweet hotel," Tony mutters as he walks into the hotel room that he and Bucky had to share. "Ooh, that bed looks real comfy." Tony walks faster towards the bed before jumping onto the bed face first and spreads out like a starfish. He hears a huffed laugh from Bucky and the sound of the door closing. Quietly, Bucky walks over to the couch that was on the other side of the room from the bed and sits down, letting out a sigh as leans back against the armrest and lifts his right leg onto the couch, leaving the other on the ground. Tony lifts his head to turn towards Bucky's direction before laying it down again. "What do we do now?"
"I dunno… Just lay low, I guess."
"I know that, snowflake. But what are we gonna do while we lay low 'cause I don't know about you, but I can't just sit somewhere for long periods of time. I get restless," Tony clarifies as he lets out a bored sigh as he looks away from Bucky. "And… I'll start panicking about the situation and my role in this stupid mission if I'm not keeping my mind busy with somethin' else."
"Tony… Look at me," Bucky tells the Omega and continues when Tony had locked eyes with him, "I promise you that Limerick isn't going to get to you as long as I can do something about him. And if they do, I won't stop trying to get you back from them and won't stop until I'm dead. And I never break my promises," Bucky promises before letting some of his Alpha slip into his voice, "Do you understand, Omega?"
Tony laid there speechless as he stared at Bucky during his promises before snapping out of it when he hears the power in the Alpha's voice. "Uh, y- yes. I understand, Alpha." Damn my Omega-ness...
Bucky stares at Tony for what seemed like forever before he nodded, his voice going back to normal when he spoke, "Good. Now, what can I do to stop you from panicking and being restless?"
Tony smirks before sitting up and looking at Bucky, "Well… We can play a game."
"What game?"
"Would you rather have to listen to Kidz Bop versions of your favorite songs for the rest of your life or never listen to music ever again?"
"The hell is 'Kidz Bop'," Bucky asks, a very confused expression on his face. Bucky was spread out on the couch, his right arm above his head, his left hanging off the edge of the couch and his head on a pillow, turned towards Tony.
"One of the worst things to ever exist. It's basically kids singing songs, badly, might I add and covering up curse words, some that aren't even curse words and… They're just really bad, okay," Tony explains, shaking his head. He was laying on the bed on his back, his head slightly hanging off the bed as he looks at Bucky.
"Okay, then I'd rather never listen to music again," Bucky answers after a moment of thinking. He then, randomly, pulls a knife out of his pocket and starts flipping it as he thinks of his next question, completely oblivious to the disconcerted look directed towards him from the Omega on the bed. "Alright, would you rather be without elbows or without knees?"
Bucky smiles some as Tony busts out laughing at the extremely weird question. Tony almost falls off the bed as he laughs, tears coming to his eyes and he starts to wheeze.
"Oh god, my stomach hurts! Ha, I haven't-ha-laughed like that in probably years, oh god. Haha… What kind of question is that?! Where did that come from?!" Tony laughs, trying to stop laughing to spare his sore stomach.
"I dunno. I couldn't think of anything else so I went with that."
"That's even worse! Who thinks of that?!" Tony laughs harder now, holding his stomach.
"I do! Now answer the question! No knees or no elbows?!"
"No knees!" comes Clint's voice from one of the comms that had, unknowingly, been on for awhile. Tony and Bucky's heads immediately turn towards the voice, Tony in shock of their weird game of Would You Rather being heard by the team, Bucky in readiness to protect Tony but he relaxed as he recognized the voice.
"Oh my god! How long have you been listening?!" Tony sits up, looking over at the online comm. "I turned mine off. Did you turn yours off?"
"Yeah, I'm sure I did," Bucky answers the same time Clint answers Tony. "Pretty much the entire time since you guys got back to your room. And Bucky did not turn off his comm as it says that his is on. We've been listening and the rest of us have basically died trying to hold in our laughter from Bucky's extremely weird questions. Like, wh-"
"What the fuck, Bucky?!" Sam asks, laughter in his voice from Bucky's latest questions. "'Would you rather have an elephant-sized head or giraffe-sized neck?' 'Would you rather fight one hundred duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?' "Would you- Would you rather be without elbows or without knees?' W- Who asks questions like that?!"
"I do! I ask questions like that," Bucky defends himself, blushing a little at the thought of the entire team hearing his weird side.
"They're good questions," Clint adds and a 'Shut up, Clint' is heard from Natasha in the background. "But they are, Nat!"
Bucky was about to thank Clint before he freezes as he hears several footsteps that were coming straight for their room. He quickly moves and grabs the comm, a gun, and motions for Tony to come to him and be quiet.
"Bucky, wh-" Tony was about to ask before Bucky hushes him.
"Steve, get here, now. We got several people about to-" Bucky speaks lowly into the comm but he wasn't able to finish before the door slams open and men rush in. He puts himself between the men and Tony and starts shooting at them, taking six of them down quickly before he's shot twice with tranquilizing darts, affecting him quickly and slowing him down. Tony watches horrified as this happens and tries to make a break for the bathroom, knowing he could lock and barricade the door before climbing out of a window. But he doesn't even get halfway as a few men come up and grab him. He fights like hell as they drag him away but he couldn't get out of their grip.
Bucky watches and stands up, shooting one of the people dragging Tony away in the back before he's hit in the back of his head, disorienting him even more but he only falls to his knees. Tony watches it happen, feeling useless and weak. "Bucky! Bucky! You promised! You-" Tony screams before he's hit in the back of the head, knocked unconscious.
Bucky feels anger rush through him at the action and starts to get up but falls down again as the effects of the drug weaken him and he falls to the ground, unconscious.
"Bucky! Tony! Answer me! We're on our way! Answer me!" Steve calls through the comm, but no one could hear him, and no one could answer.
Tony groaned in pain as he came to, his head throbbing. Slowly he opened his eyes, blinking at the bright light above him before he sat up, a hand going to his head. Tony lets out a tiny whimper before slapping his hand over his mouth to keep quiet and fights desperately to stop from breaking down.
"You're Tony Stark, Tony. You're not gonna freak out… not yet, anyway," Tony whispers to himself as he looks at his surroundings. He was sitting in a cemented room with a barred front wall and a small, circular barred window parallel of the barred wall. "This is a stupid, cookie-cutter movie move but I'm gonna do it anyway."
Tony moved closer to the door and tried opening it, nothing happened of course. "Welp, worth a try. Now, there's nothing here for me to use to get out so…," Tony sighs, "I gotta sit here and wait. Ugh, I'm gonna beat the shit out of Steve…"
When Bucky starts to awake, he notices that he's no longer on the floor but laying on his back on the bed above the covers in the room the rest of the Avengers were staying in. After hearing movement, he jumps up, ready to attack, before he sees that it was just Steve.
"It's okay, Bucky. It's just me," Steve calms, his hands out in front of him. That statement just pisses him all the way off.
"No, it's not. It's not okay. It's not okay, Steve! They got Tony! On my watch! Mine! I- I promised him they wouldn't get him while I was there and I just watched him get dragged away and be hurt," Bucky freaks out, starting to walk back and forth, running his hands through his hair and tugging almost painfully. "This is my fault. This is all my fault. Steve, I-"
"Buck, stop!"
Bucky's head snapped up to look at Steve, scared he was going to be yelled at but that's most definitely not what happened. Steve stepped forward and took Bucky into his arms, holding him tightly. It took a minute but Bucky's arms eventually came up to hug his Alpha back.
"I thought I lost both of you when you didn't respond. I didn't know what had happened." Steve pulled back and looked Bucky in the eye, pointing at him with a stern look on his face. "Buck… This is not your fault. You did what you could and I don't think anyone else could've done much better. We checked the tapes, there were twenty-five heavily-armed and dangerous men. I heard you promise him that you wouldn't let anything happen to him, but I also heard you promise him that you would get him back or die trying. Freaking out and blaming yourself won't help get Tony back."
Bucky lets out a breath and gives Steve a small smile along with a look that would absolutely terrify Steve if he hadn't known Bucky. "So, what's your next move, Buck?"
"I'm gonna get him back," Bucky answers, before walking past his Alpha, towards the door to the resting area where the rest of the team were doing everything they could to find out where Tony was being kept.
"There's the Alpha Buck I know," Steve smiles as he follows Bucky to the rest of their team.
Tony sat against the wall of his cell, knees to his chest with his head resting on the wall. He figured he'd been there a few hours at least and he was so hungry. I should've ordered room service earlier. A loud rumble from Tony's stomach shows that it agrees with that thought.
Tony's head snaps towards the door as it slams open, his heart rate starting to speed up. Footsteps get louder and louder before Tony barely holds in a gasp as he sees Limerick himself standing in front of him in a dark gray denim jacket, navy blue sweater, dark cargo pants, and black work boots.
"Tony Stark… You know, I thought it would've been harder to get you but yet, here you are," Limerick snarks, smirking at Tony.
"Sean Limerick… You know, I thought you would dress nicer like most mob bosses but yet, you look like shit," Tony retorts, smirking coldly back at Limerick.
The smirk falls from Limerick's face as he glares at Tony for a long enough amount of time to make Tony become even more unnerved by the mob boss. Right when Tony was going to ask why exactly he was there, Limerick started chuckling before laughing, throwing his body back. He laughs for a few more minutes before he grins at Tony, still chuckling.
"It's hilarious how much snark and anger can fit in such a small Omega that just wants to be fucked all day and treated like the absolute filth he is," are Limerick's words with laughter in his voice. Tony barely keeps his smirk and cold mask on his face, covering a gulp with a chuckle back at the man in front of him. Tony grunts as he stands up and walks over to the bars between him and Limerick, staring into the evil, dark eyes of the Alpha in front of him.
Seconds before Limerick was going to make another comment, Tony lets the smirk fall from his face before he spits in Limerick's face. "There, no you got somethin' to slick the way for a more powerful Alpha to fuck you."
Limerick snarls and is about to unlock the door and get his hands on Tony before one of his minions opens the door, a loud mix of cacophonous noises filling the room. "Sir! His friends are here and they aren't holding back," Limerick's minion tells his boss before going out to probably help fight, the door left open.
Limerick curses quietly for show before flashing a dark grin at Tony, "We got a little treat for those bitches you call a team." He turns and starts walking away, but not without letting out a comment that makes Tony's blood run cold. "You better have gotten a good look at them before you came here because the next time you see their faces, they'll be on a table after I take their heads off."
The door slams behind him, making Tony flinch as he's filled with fear and worry and helplessness. He moves back from the bars and looks around for something to help himself get out but there's nothing, absolutely nothing. "Damn it! Damn i-" Tony stops and starts to gasp for air as he starts to really panic. He stumbles over and sits in the corner of the cell, trying not to let it get too bad but he was failing. This is my fault. This is my fault. My fault… My-
Tony jumps as something flies through his window, followed by another one. At closer look, he sees that it's parts of his suit and holds out his hands, the parts covering his hands. Smirking, he stands up and lets out a shot at the bars, watching as they easily broke and gave him a way out. Tony then leaves the cell and out of the door that Limerick left out of before freezing at the sight in front of him.
Several guns were pointed at him but he was more worried at the way Clint, Natasha, Sam, and Wanda were held with large machetes at their necks. Limerick walked forward, smiling at Tony.
"Well, well, well… You, , owe me a window and a new cell."
"Oh, sorry about that but it was getting cramped in there. I- Ah!" Tony jumps as someone behind him grabs his neck and holds him to them, the hold on his neck restricting his breathing.
"Well, it'll get more cramped after I put your dead team's bodies in there with you, just to give you some company," Limerick smiles darkly and points at his man that was holding Clint. The man grinned darkly as he pressed the blade closer to Clint's neck, drawing a little blood before extending that arm, ready to bring it down. Clint's eyes went wide as he started struggling but it seemed like he, as well as the others, had been drugged with something to disorient them.
Right before the man holding Clint brought his arm down, Limerick spoke, "Wait!" He walked closer to Tony and looked him over, making Tony feel disgusted. "I don't know about all of you but… I think that before they die, they should get a preview as to what will become of their Iron Man after they have been dealt with." There came a mix of sounds of agreement from Limerick's men that only intensified as, to Tony's horror, their boss tucked two fingers in Tony's waistband, about to pull them down. Tony struggled but the tight hold on his body and neck prevented him from being able to do much. He began to tear up and he would've been breathing as hard as his heart was pumping without that hold on his neck.
Right before Limerick pulled Tony's jeans down, an unknown man came in from out of nowhere.
"Now!"
Clint, Sam, Wanda, and Natasha seemed to snap out of their spell and broke out of the holds that Limerick's men had them in, killing them quickly. The unknown man that came in must've been Steve as he started to ruthlessly take out Limerick's men, fueled by anger and letting his Alpha out. The team, minus Tony, joined him in taking out the men and didn't realize that Limerick, and his right-hand man, took Tony into the room with all of the cells towards a secret exit. Tony tried his damndest to fight back and get free or call out for help but he couldn't fight the strength that had a hold of him.
Limerick took a hold of Tony, gripping tighter in anger as his right-hand man opened the door to the secret exit and stepped out. Out of nowhere, a metal hand grabbed his neck and threw him away, his neck snapping. In comes Bucky through the door, shooting Limerick in the face with a cold, dark look on his face. Tony gasps and moves away, his clothes with blood splattered over them. Just as he was starting to freak out, he moves and flings himself at Bucky, holding onto him for dear life. Bucky just shushes him, wrapping his arms around the frightened Omega and holds him.
"Shh, shh… It's okay, Tony. I promised you I'd get you back, didn't I?" Bucky rubs Tony's back, trying to comfort him.
Tony just nods, burying his face in Bucky's hair and neck, unwillingly letting out sobs and whimpers as he cries. Bucky holds him for a few more moments before he picks Tony up bridal style despite the yelp from Tony and walks him back into the room, scaring Tony even more, his whimpers becoming more frequent. Bucky sets him in a dark corner and kneels down in front of him. "I'm just going to go help the others. Stay here until I come back to get you."
Tony shakes his head violently, more tears coming to his eyes as his breathing speeds up, grabbing Bucky's flesh arm in a vice grip, "No! Please! Don't- Don't leave me! Please don't leave."
Bucky was about to try and pull away before he sees the complete and utter fear in Tony's eyes. Sighing, the Alpha sits against the wall, putting some space between him and the Omega. But Tony wasn't having any of that as he realized Bucky was staying. He practically threw himself onto Bucky, sitting in the Alpha's lap and gripping onto his clothes. Bucky sits there surprised before his instincts come into play and he wraps his right arm around Tony's back, leaving his metal one by his side.
"You can hold me with the metal one too, you know…" Tony whispers quietly into the crook of Bucky's neck. It takes a couple of moments before Bucky gently holds Tony with both of his arms. Tony smiles slightly before snuggling into the Alpha's hold, getting comfortable enough to sleep, which is exactly what happened a few minutes later.
"Bucky, you can set him in a chair, you kn-" Steve tried saying before being cut off by Bucky's deep growl from his place in the Quinjet, still holding a sleeping Tony in his lap.
"If any of you wake him, I wi-" Bucky starts to threaten before being cut off.
"-Will kill all of us in our sleep, we know, James. You've told us ten times since we found you two in the back room," Natasha finishes, sitting next to him as she rolls her eyes.
"Bucky and Tony sitting in a tree," Clint starts singing quietly from his spot a couple of seats away from Bucky and Tony. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G."
"Clint," Bucky warns, listening to Tony's heartbeat to check if he was still asleep, which he was. "Did you not hear my threat?"
"First comes love," Natasha sing-songs, looking away from Bucky's glare towards her.
"Then comes marriage," Wanda joins in, smiling at Bucky and Tony.
"Then comes a baby in a baby carriage," Sam finishes, looking behind him at Bucky from his spot in the pilot seat, moving his eyebrows in a suggestive manner at the annoyed Alpha. Bruce and Steve chuckle quietly, shaking their heads at the childishness of their teammates.
Bucky sighs, his lips barely turning up in the corners, "I hate all of you."
"And love him," Steve comments, making everyone, minus Bucky, gasp and struggle to hold in their startled laughter. Bucky's jaw drops for a moment before he blushes and looks down but he ends up looking at Tony which doesn't help. He then looks away but a bit too quickly, making the team laugh harder, almost choking with laughter.
Tony shifts a little, starting to wake before Bucky glares at everyone to shut them up as he rubs Tony's back soothingly. Tony murmurs, "Stop moving," before nuzzling into Bucky's neck and falling back to sleep. Bucky relaxes as the Omega in his arms falls back to sleep before glaring at everyone.
"What are you glaring at us for? You're the one that was moving," Bruce mutters snarkily, surprising everyone.
Bucky just gives a defensive growl and closes his eyes, getting ready for the rest of the ride back to the Compound. He internally rolls his eyes as he hears the snickers from the rest of the team before he falls into a light sleep himself.
"I knew this would happen. I've read too many fanfics to know that this was gonna happen," Clint tells the team, causing all of them to shake their heads and groan quietly.
"You got issues, dude," Sam mutters.
"Too many to count." Natasha nods. Clint glares at both of them before shrugging. They're not wrong. But I ship IronWolf too much to care. This was, undoubtedly, the start of something new.